葉錫恩
(MRS.) E. ELLIOTT,
TEL. 0-422414
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KOWLOON.
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You should not overlook the importance of this. If any Gestapo practices existed, the C.I.D. could not keep knowledge of them within its own body; the knowledge would spred throughout the whole police force."
It is obvious that a pattern emerges, clearly showing that for one reason or another a good number of charges brought before the the courts are completely framed-up, and these frame-ups usually appear under such headings as "loitering", "Possession of Dangerous Drugs (1 to 4 small packets) for the alleged "purpose of trafficking"; "membership of triad society" simpliciter; "possession of triad poems" (at times dictated by the police concerned in the case); and occasion- ally "being in possession of an offensive weapon in a public place for unlawful purpose." The extreme absurdity is shown by a charge which I read as "waiting for an opportunity to commit an offence". These charges are generally preferred against juveniles aged 14 - 22, who very often have clear records. For these offences the detection rate is usually given as approximately 100% or very high.
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Another matter which came to our attention was that if a person has had a previous conviction or convictions; after having served his time he runs the risk of being framed up on further charges. Not only did we obtain this information from different inmates in the prisons visited, but it can be corroborated by quite a number of appeals brought before the High Court. To give an example I cạn refer to a comparatively recent case (Criminal Appeal No. 392 of 1977 dated 12th May, 1977), in which the learned Judge at page 9 of his Judgment, had this to say. "Suffice it is to say that there had been cases (admittedly few when compared with the frequency of the allegations) in which police officers have been known to lie and to frame innocent people. The motives for their doing so remain unknown and may even arise from some mental quirk." It seems that the practice goes back for some time, as it can be illustrated by yet another case reported in H.K.L.R. (1961) p.721 @ p.727, (Photostat copy of the said case is enclosed for ease of reference.)
May I venture to suggest that the main purpose of such frame-ups may well be to supply statistics to indicate crime detection, not excluding the possibility of corruption, acting at times on false information, and covering up for real criminals in triad societies. under the protection of bad elements in the police. If independent corroboration is further required on point, Your Excellency may well refer to cases with the Attorney-General's Chambers, particularly a case which occurred about two years ago, when a man who was being
You
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